The absorption of molecular species by diffusion in a polymer material leads to a decrease in the glass-transition temperature (Tg) through plasticization, which modifies the properties and the performances of the material. The examples hereafter show why knowledge of the plasticized Tg is a determining factor as regards applications. In the case of epoxy resins, the Tg loses about 20xc2x0 C. per percent of absorbed water according to Ellis and Karasz (Ellis, T. S., Karasz, F. E., Polymer, 25, 664, 1984). These resins are conventionally used as a protective anti-corrosion coating, but the range of operating temperatures must be adjusted as a function of the plasticized Tg, because the barrier properties decrease greatly when the Tg is reached. In the case of amorphous or semicrystalline thermoplastic polymers, the Tg is marked by a drop in the mechanical properties thereof. In this case also, the plasticized Tg value has to be taken into account for the range of temperatures used.
Furthermore, the diffusion of molecular species outside a polymer material formulated with plasticizing organic compounds can lead to a Tg increase which modifies the properties and the performances of the material. Following such a phenomenon is also essential in order to be able to control it.
Conventional Tg measuring methods using differential enthalpy analysis (DSC), thermomechanical analysis (TMA) or dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) lead to overestimated plasticized Tg values because of the dynamic temperature sweep, which leads to a partial desorption of the solute during measurement. Besides, modern industrial practices increasingly involve non-destructive evaluation techniques, which ideally allow to follow certain properties of the materials during use.
Thus, dielectrometry emerges as an interesting technique for following the evolution of the resistance and capacitance properties of a polymer material in the presence of fluids, in particular in the presence of water (Hasted, J. B., Aqueous Dielectrics, Chapman and Hall, London, 1973). However, it is now an established fact (Maffezzoli, A. M., Peterson, L., Seferis, J. C., Kenny, J., Nicolais, L., Dielectric characterization of water sorption in epoxy resin matrices, Polym. Eng. Sci. 1993, 33, 2, 75-82) (Duval, S., Camberlin, Y., Glotin, M., Keddam, M., Ropital, F., Takenouti, H., The influence of thermal transition to the evaluation of water-uptake in surface polymer film by EIS method, Proceedings of the 198th meeting of the Electrochemical Society, October 2000) that follow-up of the dielectric properties of a polymer material immersed in water is suitable for studying the diffusion conditions of the solute, but that it does not systematically provide a quantitative measurement of the water uptake, therefore an evaluation of the plasticized Tg by means of Couchman and Karasz type mixing laws (Couchman, P. R., Karasz, F. E., Macromolecules, 11, 117, 1978).
The glass transition of a polymer material corresponds to the development of a generalized mobility on a molecular scale. The complex permittivity ∈* of a polymer material, which is the sum of dipolar and ionic components, can be used as an indicator of the state of the material, and more particularly of the glass transition stage (McCrum, N. G., Read, B. E., Williams, G., Anelastic and dielectric effects in polymeric solids, Wiley, J. and Sons, New York 1967). In fact, the development of cooperative dipolar relaxations associated with glass transition (change to high temperatures or low frequencies, because of the kinetic character of the glass transition that follows time/temperature equivalence laws) induces:
an increase in the dipolar component of the real part of the complex permittivity, ∈xe2x80x2d;
a dissipative peak on the dipolar component of the imaginary part of the complex permittivity, ∈xe2x80x3d.
In cases where ions are present in the medium (for example in form of impurities in the case of thermosetting resins), the glass transition Tg leads to an increase in the ionic conductivity as a result of the mobility development of the chains, hence:
an increase in the ionic component of the real part of the complex permittivity, ∈xe2x80x2i, if the accumulation of ions at the electrodes causes a polarization phenomenon;
an increase in the ionic component of the imaginary part of the complex permittivity, ∈xe2x80x3i.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,252 by Kranbuehl describes in particular how to follow the life of a plastic material exposed to an aggressive environment by means of the dielectric permittivity characteristics of a sensor. Among other properties, he claims the follow-up of the Tg by correlating the permittivity measurements of the material in the initial state with those of the material during use. In fact, temperature and/or frequency dynamic dielectric measurements allow to detect the glass transition (McCrum, N. G., Read, B. E., Williams, G., Anelastic and dielectric effects in polymeric solids, Wiley, J. and Sons, New York 1967) which is reflected in the development of cooperative dipolar relaxations in the medium. However, so far, no method allowing quantitative determination of the Tg of a polymer material exposed to an aggressive environment has been proposed.
Furthermore, in the case of measurement of the Tg of a polymer material in the presence of fluids, using the electrodes claimed in patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,252 provides no satisfactory answer:
(i) In the case of interdigitated comb sensors on an inert support (Al2O3 substrates or glass as described in patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,550 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,908), the impervious character of the substrate leads to an accumulation of the solute at the interface, hence a sensor response saturation before the steady state is established (see Maffezzoli, A. M., Peterson, L. and Seferis) by short-circuit of the two electrodes.
(ii) In the case of interdigitated comb sensors on an organic substance (thermosetting and thermoplastic substrates) deposited at the surface of the polymer material to be studied, the response connected with the polymer material studied cannot be distinguished from that of the polymer substrate.
(iii) In the case of plane/plane sensors to be embedded in the polymer to be studied, the imperviousness of each electrode blocks the free circulation of the solute in the inter-electrode space. The dielectric measurement is therefore not representative of the material in mass in the stationary or transient state.
(iv) Finally, in the case of  less than  less than coupon  greater than  greater than  sensors exposed to the same environment as the polymer material to be studied, whose complex permittivity changes would be connected by a chart to the evolution of the properties of the polymer material to be studied, the reliability of the sensor is difficult to guarantee, as underlined by D. E. Kranbuehl himself in patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,683.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a method of evaluating the glass-transition temperature of a polymer part during use, and a device suited for implementing this method.
The first object of the invention is a method allowing to evaluate the plasticization/deplasticization of the Tg of a polymer material in the presence of fluids from dynamic measurements of the components of the complex permittivity ∈* of the material (∈*=∈xe2x80x2xe2x88x92i∈xe2x80x3). The method is applicable in the laboratory as well as in an industrial context (in-situ measurements on coatings, sheaths, etc., in particular in the petroleum sphere). At a fixed temperature, the frequency measurements of ∈xe2x80x2 and ∈xe2x80x3 are carried out, then adjusted by means of a Havriliak-Negami type parametered equation (Havriliak, S.Jr., Negami, S., J. Polym. Sci. Part C, 1966, No.14, p.99) in order to determine the characteristic time of the glass transition xcfx84 and consequently the plasticized Tg, by considering the previously established relaxation chart of the polymer material in the initial state (before plasticization or deplasticization).
The second object of the invention is a device for measuring the dielectric properties of a polymer material in the presence of fluids (water/organic compound/gas, including any combination), a device suited to transient and steady states.
A first device is designed for laboratory and industrial applications. The pattern of the electrodes, their configuration, and the nature of the conducting material that constitutes the electrodes are controlled so as not to substantially disturb the permeation of the solute, in order to measure the dielectric response of the mass plasticized polymer material. The electrodes according to the invention have a plane/plane capacitor configuration. They are inserted in the polymer material to be studied or deposited at the surface thereof, so that an electric field applied between the electrodes allows to measure the dielectric properties of the material in the air gap by means of an impedance analyzer; one of the two electrodes at least is a comb, a grid or a sintered metal of carefully designed geometry so as not to substantially disturb the permeation of the solute.
A second laboratory device, referred to as  less than  less than double-compartment setup greater than  greater than , allows, by means of an impedance analyzer, to follow the dielectric properties of a polymer film placed between two cells filled with a conducting fluid: salt water/organic compound containing an additive so as to be conducting/gas, including any combination except gases alone. Application of an electric field between two electrodes consisting of an inert conducting material and arranged in a plane-plane configuration at the end of each cell thus allows to characterize the polymer film in the presence of the conducting fluid since the latter acts as an electrolyte and leads the field lines to the polymer film.
The method according to the invention affords the advantage of evaluating the Tg of a polymer material without influencing the measurements because of the technique involved. This method is particularly well-suited for determining the Tg upon plasticization or deplasticization of a polymer material in the presence of fluids. In fact, the proposed method does not require removal of the material from the medium causing plasticization or deplasticization, and it does not modify the absorption or desorption phenomenon. Advantageously, the device for implementing measurement of the Tg of a polymer material does not influence the plasticization or deplasticization phenomenon.
The invention can be defined in general as a method of evaluating the glass-transition temperature of a polymer material during use, wherein the following stages are carried out:
a) determining the glass-transition temperature of the polymer material in the initial state by means of a conventional method,
b) bringing two electrodes into contact with a part made of polymer material in the initial state,
c) setting up the relaxation chart of said part made of polymer material in the initial state by means of complex permittivity measurements obtained with said electrodes,
d) determining a characteristic time of relaxation of the polymer material in the initial state by means of said chart and of the glass-transition temperature determined in stage a),
e) setting up the relaxation chart of the same polymer material during use with the same method as in stage b) and c),
f) determining the glass-transition temperature of the polymer material during use by means of the relaxation chart set up in stage e) and of the characteristic time determined in stage d).
According to the method of the invention, an alternating electric field can be applied to the polymer part contained in the air gap of the electrodes and the alternating current developed is measured in order to calculate the complex impedance, then the complex permittivity of said polymer part.
According to the method of the invention, the complex permittivity can be measured as a function of the temperature of the polymer part and of the frequency of the electric signal applied at the electrodes.
According to the method of the invention, the relaxation chart can be set up as a function of the temperature by means of the complex permittivity measurements adjusted by a Havriliak-Negami type parametered equation.
According to the method of the invention, the glass-transition temperature can be determined in stage a) by means of a differential enthalpy analysis (DSC).
The invention also relates to a device for determining the glass-transition temperature of a polymer part during use, comprising two electrodes brought into contact with a polymer part, an impedance analyzer which applies an electric signal to the electrodes, a means for recording and displaying the information provided by said impedance analyzer, characterized in that said electrodes are deposited directly and without a support in contact with the material of the polymer part.
Advantageously, at least one of said electrodes has the shape of a comb or of a grid, or it is a part made of sintered metal. Thus, the electrode does not disturb the permeation of the solute in the polymer part.
According to the device of the invention, at least one of said electrodes is a continuous surface. The continuous surface can be a plate made of an electrically conducting material. The device can be applied to a flexible pipe made of polymer reinforced by a metallic armour. In this configuration, the electrode in form of a continuous surface consists of the armour itself.
According to an embodiment of the device, at least one of said electrodes is embedded in the material of the polymer part. According to another embodiment of the device, at least one of said electrodes is deposited on the surface of the material of the polymer part.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the device for determining the glass-transition temperature of a polymer part during use comprises two electrodes brought into contact with a polymer part, an impedance analyzer which applies an electric signal to the electrodes, a means for recording and displaying the information provided by said impedance analyzer, and it is characterized in that said electrodes are brought into contact with the polymer part by means of a conducting fluid.